How do your prices weigh up agaisn’t the supermarkets?

A question often asked at Eco Freaks Emporium is, ‘How do your prices vary to the supermarkets?’.

I guess this is a valid question, although it breaks me just a little. You see, many of our products are sourced to have a number of factors or at the very least one of the following:

1. Organic – the majority of our food products are organic. We believe this not only promotes the quality of nutrients in the food, fewer processes are carried out on the products as well. Organic farming is also better for wildlife, the soil and the planet. Organic food is more expensive than non-organic but is a smaller cost to our planet and we believe a better option all round. Supermarkets do not always offer an organic range and I often go round the shops to see if we are cheaper.

2. Plastic/ Zero waste- unlike supermarkets we are also concerned about how our products are delivered to us. Eco Freaks, try to not only source better quality food but also food that has, reuseable/ no plastic or recyclable packaging. Our food is brought in bulk as this is often the best way to reduce what the food is sent in. Sometimes however, plastic cannot be avoided 🙁 but we continue to fill the unfinished Eco Bricks with unwanted plastic. All our Eco Bricks are staying in Hampsire and are being used in schools to make flower beds.

3. Ethically sourced- where our items are not organic, we try hard to at the very least source them from producers or sellers that pay a suitable wage, care greatly about their products and all round are getting and offer a fair deal.

4. You can’t buy what we offer at a supermarket- it’s the truth. Yes, many of them are getting better at offering loose fruit and vegetables, or allowing you to use your own packaging at deli counters but we aren’t the same and that’s the point. It’s the reason we exsist, almost. Even the non-food products, you cannot buy at a supermarket.

5. Food waste- many may know, I also run the Trash Cafe. I’ve spent over 3 years tackling food waste. The Trash Cafe now have an amazing team of volunteers, who work endlessly collecting food that is still fit for human consumption and feeding over 1000 people a week. Anyone can use the Trash Cafe, we are about stopping good food going in the bin. You can pay in time, cash, skills or item donations. We are not a needs based project but environmental.

Off the back of the Trash Cafe, I wanted Eco Freaks to be the step to help avoid food waste. In store, you can buy quality food but at the quanity you need not the amount you are forced to purchase.

Conclusion- Our prices for organic, ethically sourced and plastic free are very competative and in many cases cheaper than the supermarkets offer. The minimal impact to our planet, well in my opinion, it’s priceless.

Written by Chloe Cobb (also highly dyslexic, so apologies in advance for any obvious errors in this article, even proof reading it wouldn’t help me find them as my brain reads what should be written.)